Newly minted holders Real Madrid are among eight teams seeded in Pot 1 for the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on 24 August along with the returning Spartak Moskva and, following Saturday's result in Cardiff, Shakhtar Donetsk, as 22 clubs are now confirmed for next season's competition. Thanks to a system that began in 2015/16, Pot 1 for the group stage draw is formed by the holders and the champions of the top seven national associations as per the UEFA association club coefficient rankings at the end of season 2015/16 that formed the 2017/18 access list. But since Madrid won both
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‘Spectacular’ Madrid have Zidane dancing
Zinédine Zidane, Real Madrid coachI feel extremely happy. It's been a spectacular year. You couldn't dream of anything better. We won the league on the very last day, and it's very difficult to reach the Champions League final two years running – we've done it. We played a great team; the first half was difficult but in the second half we were clearly superior. We pressed a lot more and physically we won the game there too. So I'm very happy.The first half was more even; Juventus came out very strongly and had lots of the ball. In the second half, we were superior. At half-time
Stats breakdown: Real Madrid v Juventus
• Real Madrid need one more goal to become the first team to score 500 in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final.• Dani Alves made his 99th UEFA Champions League appearance against Monaco. In Cardiff, he could become the 31st player to bring up his century in the competition. Dani Alves could make his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance
Juventus and Real Madrid face final showdown
The 2016/17 UEFA Champions League final pits the season's top scorers, holders Real Madrid CF, against a Juventus side who have conceded just three goals en route to Cardiff.• Both clubs have plenty of recent final experience to draw from. Defending champions Madrid – bidding to become the first team to retain the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era – are in a third final in four years, having beaten city rivals Club Atlético de Madrid in both 2014 and 2016; Juventus, meanwhile, lost to FC Barcelona in the 2015 showpiece. • This match is a repeat of the 1998 final in
Will Madrid end Champions League holders’ curse?
If Real Madrid – who reached the final at Atlético's expense on Wednesday – are to lift the trophy in Cardiff on 3 June they will spoil one of the more remarkable pieces of football trivia: no team has won back-to-back titles in the UEFA Champions League era (1992/93 onwards).HIGHLIGHTS, LINE-UPS AND PHOTOS: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ARCHIVE Close callsFour clubs defending the trophy have made it all the way to the final, only to come off second best:1994/95: AC Milan lost 1-0 v Ajax1995/96: Ajax lost 4-2 on penalties v Juventus 1996/97: Juventus lost 3-1 v Dortmund2009/10: Manchester Unite... UEFA.com - News
Madrid, Monaco, Atleti win; Higuaín rescues Juve
ATLÉTICO v REAL MADRIDAtlético 1-0 Eibar (Saúl 69)Atleti all but sealed a return to the UEFA Champions League group stage next season as Saúl Ñíguez's third goal in six outings earned a narrow home win that leaves Diego Simeone's team five points clear of fourth-place Sevilla with two to play. Atleti ended with ten men as Diego Godín received a second yellow card in added time. Granada 0-4 Real Madrid (James Rodríguez 3 11; Morata 30 35)Madrid were too hot to handle in Granada, two goals apiece from James Rodríguez and Álvaro Morata setting a much-changed side up for ... UEFA.com -
Champions League podcast: Madrid magic, Monaco-Juve
Hear from Stefan Savić and Leonardo Jardim as host Rob Daly is joined by UEFA.com's European football expert Andy Brassell and match commentator Richard Kaufman to review Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired 3-0 semi-final first-leg derby win and preview Wednesday's match between Monaco and Juventus in the official UEFA Champions League podcast.DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST NOW Download the podcast from iTunes or audioBoom, or listen in the official competition app. Our radio show Matchday Live returns with Juventus v Monaco commentary on Wednesday from 19:30CET on UEFA.com and in the app. ... UEFA.com